Why You Should Wear a Helmet

I use this video to get the attention of Middle School students and to point out that you never know when a crash might come out of nowhere.  It grabs their attention and I ask how many are afraid of such a hazard coming out of the blue.  Of course, few fear this.  But then I tell of the friend at Colorado State University who hit a deer while coming down Rist Canyon one day.  He broke a leg but his head was fine.

Teaching Kids Safe Cycling - The Example from the Netherlands

The Netherlands provides an excellent example of both the need for teaching children safe cycling skills and the Dutch solution to that problem.

In Fort Collins, City Council has adopted the "Bicycle Safety Education Plan."   The plan has a goal of reaching 11,000 school children in the community every year.

The following videos suggest both a rationale for doing this and a means to achieving that goal.

This first video shows a bit of the history behind Dutch bike paths and bike culture.

The second video describes the education program that teaches Dutch children how to ride safely. At age 12 200,000 kids per year take a safe cycling exam that allows them to bicycle to school once they get into middle school.
How the Dutch got their cycle paths 

Bicycle training in the Netherlands

Teach Your Child to Balance first, Then to Balance and Pedal

This is a great way to teach your child to ride a bike without training wheels. 

Avoiding the Door Zone: How Far to Ride Away from Parked Cars

 This video features Preston Tyree, Education Director at the League of American Bicyclists, at Colorado State University demonstrating how far we need to ride from parked cars. 

The Cyclists Eye View

This is a good video for adults, high schoolers and even middle school kids.  The League of American Bicyclists packages this film on its DVD for League Cycling Instructors and I've used it in teaching brief introductory classes to Drivers Ed Instructors on "how to drive around bicyclists."

Produced by the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition and the City of Long Beach, Featuring League Cycling Instructor, Chris Quint from Long Beach.  

NHTSA's Ride Smart, It's Time to Start

This is an earlier version of the NHTSA video on helmet use that we used in Spring 2010 for many of the Snap 'n Strap Helmet Programs for 3rd graders in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The video is good for k - 5th grade.  Used with an egg or melon drop in a helmet the kids get a kick out of this. 

Bicycle Safety New York Style - How Wrong Way Riding Works in NYC

 Middle Schoolers love this video of a wrong-way rider in New York City.  So it's a great way to grab their attention for a discussion of what wrong way riding means for rules of the road.  (It is also a great example of extreme restraint in what might have been an opportunity for bike on pedestrian or pedestrian on bike rage).

Some kids won't automatically process what happened here.  So walk them through this after they've watched the video a couple of times.

1)  Why was the bike messenger riding down the street the wrong way?  (Because he can?  Because it's NYC?  Because the cops can't be bothered to stop him? Because motorists make way, etc.
2) Why didn't the pedestrian look left, then right, then left before crossing?  Because it was a one way street and traffic was coming only from the right (so he thought).   Just the reason why you don't want to ride your bike down the street the wrong way - motorists aren't used to looking for vehicular traffic coming from the left.   
3) From here move into general rules of the road.  Video number 4 (posted in this blog with a complete set of videos) "Ride with The Flow of Traffic"does a great job of following up on this with any age rider.  For the complete list of videos click here.
 

NHTSA Bike Safe, Bike Smart Film for Middle School Age (9 Minutes)

 This is a great film for middle school students and even 4th and 5th graders. 

Bicycle Safety Videos on YouTube for All Ages

Pueblo, Colorado's Safe Routes to School program has produced a series of ten videos for all ages demonstrating bicycle safety for school kids.  The series was produced under the direction of League Cycling Instructor Kim Arline.

Topics include:

1.   Bicycle Safety: What is a Bike Train?
2.   Wear a properly fitting helmet
3.   Ride a Safe Bike
4.   Bicycle Safety:  Be Visible
5.   Bicycle Safety: Ride With the flow of traffic
6.   Bicycle Safety: Ride Predictably
7.   Bicycle Safety: Sharing the road
8.   Sharing Multi-use Trails
9.   Walking/Biking Safety: Stay Alert of your Surroundings
10. Finding a route

You can view these on You Tube. 


 The videos were produced with a Safe Routes to School Education and Encouragement grant.   They play regularly on the Pueblo County and Pueblo City Public Access Channels.  DVD copies are available.
Visit Pueblo Active Community Environments (P.A.C.E.) for details.

New Video Shows Cyclists How to "Lead" the Dance with Traffic

Keri Caffrey of CommuteOrlando.com just posted a great video called "Bicycling in Traffic is a "Dance You Must Lead."  I suggest you take a look.  As you watch it remember the mantra of the vehicular cyclist:  "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles."

You can link to CommuteOrlando.com here.


Bicycling in traffic is a dance you lead from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

We'll be discussing the principles illustrated in this video at our Bike Co-op classes  Thursday evenings in April.  That schedule is here:

	- April 1 . Principles of Traffic Law (in Colorado and in general) - April 8 . How crashes happen and how to avoid them;
	-April 15 . Riding basics (classroom);
	-April 17 (Saturday) Bike Handling basics . Parking lot drills (1.5 hours) On-the-road practice (1.5 hours)